Family Vacations: Rockefeller Center

Fountains and decorative foliage add a touch of serenity to Rockefeller Center.

Midtown Manhattan's Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings a few blocks south of Central Park. The center is a shopping mall, an Art Deco icon, a winter wonderland, the backdrop for a television network's morning program, and the only place on earth where you can nurse a cocktail and watch ice-skaters leap and twirl beneath a big, golden statue of Prometheus.

The center of the complex is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, a 70-story building that towers above the skating rink and the adjacent central plaza. Visitors can enjoy glamorous dancing accompanied by a big band in the Rainbow Room or dine next door at the Rainbow Grill, which provides a glistening view past the Empire State Building through its room-spanning vertical windows. Rockefeller Center is also home to NBC studios, which includes the legendary Studio 8H. Arturo Toscanini, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and Saturday Night Live have been filmed there.

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Visitors to the center can also take a tour or see a movie or stage show at Radio City Music Hall, the largest indoor theater in the United States, where the sky-high-kicking Rockettes have been knocking out audiences since 1932.

Rockefeller Center Information

Address: 5th Ave. to 7th Ave. and 47th St. to 51st St., New York, NY

Phone: 212/332-6868

To learn more about family vacation destinations, see:

Family Vacations: Learn about hundreds of family vacations in destinations all over North America.

New York State Guide: Learn about Mobil Travel Guide-rated hotels and restaurants in New York, as well as other recreational activities.

New York City Guide: Find out where to stay, what to do, and where to eat when you visit New York.

Scenic Drives: For those who think that getting there is half the fun, we have compiled more than 100 of the most scenic drives throughout the country.